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Pulling
off a "Narendra Singh" act, a house
representative in America (a black lady) smacked
a police officer who was enforcing security and
failed to recognize her - because she was not
wearing her badge. I have watched this case with
interest since it happened a few day ago. I
wanted to bring it to the PD readers only after
the issue produced some results - this lets us
compare how things are handled in US and in
Bihar. Both cases are eerily identical.
In case of Narendra Singh, Nitish Kumar stepped
in, mediated a one sided truce (what could the
poor magistrate do, but reconcile?) and got the
rouge minister off the hook. In Bihar, Narendra
Singh never had to make as much as a public
apology. In America, a grand jury was set up and
even after she tried to pull the race card, the
pressure on her was so intense that she had to
apologize publicly. No one came to rescue her
from the consequences of this rash and rude act.
We must learn not to keep politicians above the
law. The case of Richard Nixon (Watergate) and
the recent removal (and subsequent resignation)
of House majority leader Tom DeLay for engaging
in nefarious activities are testimony to the
fact that dishonest behavior does not go
unpunished even at the highest level. It is,
however, true that Presidents and Vice
Presidents have a little more leeway - and that
gets abused occasionally. But, acting rude and
superior (as if the officials are serfs) is not
tolerated at all.
Here is how ABC News reports on US House Rep.
Cynthia McKinney:
"With a grand jury investigating and little
support from House colleagues, Rep. Cynthia
McKinney reversed course and apologized Thursday
for an altercation in which she entered a
Capitol building unrecognized, refused to stop
when asked by a police officer and then hit him.
"I am sorry that this misunderstanding happened
at all and I regret its escalation, and I
apologize," McKinney, D-GA. (Democrat from the
state of Georgia), said during a brief
appearance on the House floor. "There should not
have been any physical contact in this
incident."
The grand jury investigation into whether to
seek assault or other charges was continuing. It
was unclear what impact McKinney's apology might
have."
The story has not yet unfolded completely as the
investigation still goes on, but already Ms.
McKinney has had to eat the humble pie. Things
may get worse for her from this point on.
I am not saying that everything about the US
system is perfect. There are people who bend and
flex laws and get away with it. Still, I felt
that readers of PD should know of this event.
Maybe Nitish Kumar and Narendra Singh (unlikely)
will read this article too. I hope this goes
towards changing the feudal mentality of an
unspoken social strata system with the minister
at the top. He should be treated like a common
criminal when he indulges in such arrogant acts.
It is unfair to be soft on the law-breaking
politicians who are "supposed to be" the law
makers.
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Comments: |
I can not agree any less with Arcee
Jee. Everybody should be treated
equally for any unlawful behaviour
one has indulged into. I remember
the incident where Prime Minster
Tony Blair and his wife had to go to
the jail and secure the release of
their son after he was arrested on
excessive drinking and unlawful
behviour. But in our great India
even an MLA or a ward councilor's
son is given a preferential
treatment. And what saddens me is
that I don't see any ray of hope for
future too. The political class is
nurturing a spineless bureaucracy
where the deserving ones are
disregarded and the cronies are
rewarded. If we don't change from
now we are doing injustice to the
coming generations. The least that
we can do is stay upright and bring
the changes within with a hope that
we will see the reflections in
future. - Upendra Prasad - Apr.
7, 2006
I am so glad you raised this issue.
I live in Georgia and as I watch
this Cynthia McKinney case unfold, I
couldn't help but think of our own
State Agriculture Minister Narendra
Singh who did exactly same to a
Magistrate and got away with not
even an apology like McKinney. It's
a shame! - Amarendra Kumar - Apr.
7, 2006
The bad power drunk politicians are
similar in all democracies. They are
arrogant, unreasonable and often
uncouth. Once in power, their
honeymoon with the tax payers money
starts. Huge motorcades and
elaborate security. They move around
in the society like "bull in China
shop". However, in their state of
musth, if there is anything that
scares the daylight out of them it
is the press and the resultant
public opinion. They apologize when
there is no better way. They do not
if they possibly wriggle out. But
they all know it when their pants
fall in full media glare. The
apology part is no big deal as it
means nothing. It does not come from
the heart. It is a face saving
measure to arrest a sliding public
image. A purely selfish exercise.
Though Cynthia McKinney and Narendra
Singh may appear to be dissimilar in
that one apologized and the other
did not, the bottom line is that
both have been properly humbled by
the system. Within minutes of his
act Narendra Singh was on every news
channel and the nation watched him
make a fool of himself and abused
him. His musth spell exploded in his
face.
Netas are scared of an adverse
image. Narendra Singh managed to
wriggle out of the mess but not
without making himself thoroughly
unpopular. Can Narendra Singh, even
in his wildest dreams, dream of
repeating the act? If he does, it
will be political suicide for him
and he knows it. - Rajesh Chaubey
- Apr. 8, 2006 |
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